Dallas, TX
Dallas Cowboys 7th-round pick could be surprise impact player in 2024
It’s hard to find a position with more questions on the Dallas Cowboys’ current roster than at defensive tackle. While the unit has some concerns outside Osa Odighizuwa, the nose tackle spot is a significant problem.
Dallas will be leaning on Mazi Smith, a 2023 first-round selection who struggled as a rookie and has a lot to prove in year two. Behind him is a veteran who has hardly seen the field in Carl Davis, a seventh-round pick in Justin Rogers, and an undrafted free agent in Denzel Daxon.
Of the three reserves, Rogers is best suited to force his way onto the field, and as Patrik Walker of the team’s official website pointed out, he has a lot of potential. He also said D-tackle remains the greatest need, a sentiment shared by every writer on staff as they looked ahead to the 2024 campaign.
“The success at DT will be predicated upon the stellar play of Osa Odighizuwa and …? Thus, my point. Mazi Smith is pressured to have a breakout season and so is Chauncey Golston. Justin Rogers is a rookie late-rounder with lots of potential but a large learning curve, and the same applies to undrafted rookie Denzel Daxon, while Carl Davis hopes to fight his way onto the roster.” — Walker, DallasCowboys.com
Rogers looks the part, standing just over 6-foot-2 and weighing 330 pounds. He also knows how to keep his pad level low and win with leverage — while not being afraid of using his hands against opposing offensive linemen.
He spent three years with the Kentucky Wildcats, where he had 60 tackles and three sacks. Rogers transferred to Auburn for his final season in the NCAA and added another 17 tackles and one sack.
MORE: Dak has multiple Cowboys all-time passing record in his sights
Rogers didn’t fill up the stat sheet and isn’t going to put up highlight-reel plays. What he can do, however, is clog up the running lanes, something he did often in the SEC which is no easy task. For the Cowboys, that’s exactly what they need after losing Johnathan Hankins in free agency.
It’s never a guarantee that seventh-round picks make the roster but Rogers feels like a lock since he’s exactly what this defensive line needs. He could also be in for an impactful role as a rookie, especially early as Mazi Smith is still working his way back to full health following shoulder surgery in the offseason.
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Dallas, TX
2026 Dallas Cowboys schedule officially announced
Behold the 2026 Dallas Cowboys schedule.
We knew coming into Thursday that the Cowboys would be on the road to take on the New York Giants in the season opener on Sunday Night Football, that Dallas is “hosting” the Baltimore Ravens in Brazil in Week 3, and that the Philadelphia Eagles would be in town for Thanksgiving Day. Now we know it all.
Among the first things that jump to mind is that bye week is late. Dallas isn’t on bye until Week 14, the Sunday of that week is December 13th for full perspective.
The Cowboys also only play twice in their own building, thanks to the Brazil game, before November. Sometimes those weird quirks show up in schedules and this is certainly one of them.
It is interesting to see that the NFL gave Dallas the longest amount of rest possible after their Thanksgiving tilt. It hasn’t been uncommon for the league to have the Cowboys play on consecutive Thursdays, but perhaps that is a thing of the past.
Dallas, TX
Dallas Approves $180,500 for New Botham Jean Boulevard Street Signs
Flashit Photography
On Wednesday, the Dallas City Council approved funding that will replace highway exit signs and road signs marking Lamar Street with new signage honoring Botham Jean, the 26-year-old Dallas accountant who was fatally shot in his own apartment by an off-duty Dallas police officer in 2018.
The $180,500 in funding for 13 signs to be installed by the Texas Department of Transportation is the final step in the street renaming that was unanimously approved by the council in 2021. The new signs will be placed at exits along Interstate 45, State Highway 310 and U.S. Highway 175.
Already, Botham Jean Boulevard signs run along the road in the Cedars, where Jean lived before he was killed.
“This street on which he chose to live and the street on which he died can serve as a lasting memory of the upstanding resident who loved Dallas so much,” his mother, Allison Jean, told the council in 2021.
Jean was shot by Amber Guyger, a Dallas police officer, after she entered his apartment believing it was her own. A Dallas jury found Guyger guilty of murder in 2019 and sentenced her to 10 years in prison. She has also been ordered to pay the Jean family nearly $100 million in a civil trial, which accused her of using excessive force.
The Jean family is seeking restitution from the city of Dallas because they argue that Dallas, as Guyger’s former employer, had a duty to defend Guyger and pay out claims brought against her. The Jean family filed suit against the city in April of this year.
On Wednesday, city council member Adam Bazaldua stated that the continued remembrance of Jean’s name is a reminder that “no one is above the law.”
“This has never simply been about changing street signs; it has always been about commemorating a life that was taken too soon,” said Bazaldua. “When driving down Botham Jean Boulevard, we are reminded of the thousands of lives lost across the country each year to senseless gun violence.”
Bazaldua said that once city leaders were made aware that some signs from the initial 2021 street name change had not materialized, the horseshoe took steps to correct the oversight “somewhat promptly.” But he acknowledged that Wednesday’s funding came on the heels of community advocacy urging the project’s completion.
Community leader Yafeuh Balogun said his organization, Community Movement Builders, began asking the city for the updated signs in September 2025. Addressing the council ahead of Wednesday’s vote, Balogun encouraged the horseshoe to vote in favor of the funds because it “would make no sense” to not follow through with the street renaming approved years ago.
“I think this is very powerful simply because driving here today, I still saw the Lamar Street Signs,” Balogun said. “I remember how powerful it was back in 2021 when the city council voted to rename Lamar Street to Botham Jean. I’d like to keep that legacy going.”
Dallas, TX
World Cup volunteers receive uniforms, new tickets released
We’re less than a month out from the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and North Texans volunteering in the event have received their uniforms. FOX 4’s Peyton Yager has more on that and the new hospitality tickets released today.
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